


Silver Bells

by The_Changamire



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, RWBY
Genre: Background Relationships, Beacon Falls but So Does Cinder From The Tower, Celebi Might Appear, Crossover, Ho-Oh Doesn't Know How He Got Here, Hoopa Might Be A Little Shit, Lugia Gets A Cult, Multi, Ozpin is confused, Pyrrha Nikos Lives, Pyrrha Nikos Survives The Fall of Beacon, References to Other Universes, The Fall Maiden is Split, The Plot is Getting More Convoluted As I Go, Ultra Wormholes(?), maybe who knows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23989576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Changamire/pseuds/The_Changamire
Summary: In Beacon's darkest hour, a rainbow-feathered deity descends from the heavens and changes the course of history forever.Meanwhile, in the depths of the ocean, the Beast of the Sea begins to stir.
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie
Comments: 14
Kudos: 42





	1. Ho-Oh's Descent

_ "And lo..! Two brothers shalt ascend to whence they came, and shalt returneth to impart judgement at which hour the time cometh. In their stead, those gents leaveth relics of power, to maintain the boons of balance and prosperity bestowed upon humanity. So sayeth the Brothers of Light and Dark." And the Brothers went hither. _

Of course, another deity had different plans.

* * *

Despite all the death and destruction taking place around him, Jaune only had thoughts for one person. Even as he fought through the hordes of Grimm looking for allies or friends, his mind was never truly at rest, not even allowing him to sink into a battle trance.

Mentally, he berated himself. How could he have been so blind? Everything he had ever wanted in a girl, all those qualities he never knew he needed, Pyrrha exemplified all of them. And to think - she returned those feelings! And now she was up there on Beacon Tower, alone, facing an opponent who vastly outmatched her in power and experience.

He fell to his knees. Jaune was not an extremely devout person, but he, like most others, gave credit where credit was due, and prayed to the Brothers and Oum occasionally.

He prayed now.

"Someone,  _ anyone _ , please… Help her. I've never asked you for anything before, but if you exist, please, save her."

The Brothers did not hear him. Oum did not hear him.

However, someone did.

* * *

She couldn't breath.

Maybe it was because of the arrow in her chest. She attempted to breathe in air but her lungs were filled with ashes.

She couldn't breath.

The woman - Cinder - smirked as she calmly walked towards the champion.  _ To claim her destiny, _ Pyrrha thought ruefully. And she couldn't do anything to stop her from approaching, only continuing to struggle for her waning life.

She couldn't breath.

And then she could.

The pseudo-Fall Maiden found herself in a white void, empty, except for one being, shrouded in a light so blinding she had to avert her eyes.

**_"Maiden Fair."_ **

The light seemed to lessen, and the power of the Fall Maiden's power resonated within her. "Who are you?" she asked in awe. "Are you the God of Light? Oum?" She faltered. "Am I... am I dead?"

**_"Yes."_ **

Pyrrha let out an amalgamation of a sigh and a sob. "Gods, I… I didn't even get to say goodbye…" She chuckled bitterly. "I suppose I didn't give Jaune a chance to either, did I?"

The deity was silent, seeming staring in her direction, and, somehow, she sensed an emotion radiating from it.

Pity.

And… pride?

**_"You care for He who is Pure of Heart,"_ ** the deity's voice seemed to echo around the void, and Pyrrha nodded tenderly. "He… means the world to me."

**_"And you are the world to him. Even now, he prays for your safety, your triumph,"_ ** came the response, and her heart both melted and cracked simultaneously. Even after what she did, pushing him away, he still wished for her to come back safe. She fell to her knees and bowed her head. "...It doesn't matter to me, I suppose. Shall I go to Heaven, if there is one?"

**_"No."_ **

Pyrrha's shoulders began to tremble. "I- I suppose not. I f- failed. Failures… don't get to have peace, do they?"

**_"That is not my intent, unless you wish it."_ **

Pyrrha looked up in shock, and, in the back of her mind, she noted that the god had wings.

"I intend to return Pure of Heart's world to him," the deity spoke, and Pyrrha's heart soared despite her best efforts. He couldn't possibly mean-

**_"You, Maiden Fair, are his world."_ **

There was a bright flash of orange, and silver, and suddenly she could breath.

* * *

Cinder didn't understand. She killed her, that red-haired champion, so the Fall Maiden's power should have reverted to her. She should be reveling in its power, power that she had worked for, that she had earned.

Yet she felt nothing, and it infuriated her to no end. She growled as she crushed the circlet in her hand.

Hearing a sob, she turned to find the silver-eyed brat (her master had mentioned something about silver eyes a while ago) kneeling amongst the rubble of the tower, crying as she stared at the ruined bronze circlet in her hand.

_ Ah. She must have been a friend of hers. How unfortunate for her. _ Mentally, she beckoned the Grimm dragon forward, having no qualms about letting it devour the mourning girl. Pets deserved treats for their good work, after all.

The Grimm would have done as she bid, but Cinder would never know. A bright flash of light sprung into existence above the tower, shining like a second sun. She glared at it, then her eyes widened.  _ That power, it's- _

And, for an instant, she felt it; the full powers of the Maiden, unrestrained and at its peak, the power that should be hers, before half of it was cruelly stripped away again, visible only by wisps of flames that consumed the circlet.

Cinder had no time to react, not even to rage as her goal escaped her grasp, seeing as two things happened that would change Remnant forever more..

One; the girl, having seen the last remnant of her friend consumed by fire, broke, and screamed, and a silver light emanated from her eyes.

_ "WHAT?!" _

The second thing, the thing that threw her master's plans for Beacon into a burning fire, the thing she did not have the opportunity to see as she fell from the tower, arm and half her upper-left face gone, was the phoenix that tackled the Grimm dragon off the tower.

* * *

Gnawing and thrashing at its enemy, the Grimm dragon roared.

And Ho-Oh screeched back.

  
  
  



	2. Burn and Fall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tags don't lie.

Huntsmen, Huntresses, and students alike stared in shock and awe at the giant bird, rivaling the Grimm dragon in size body-checked said Grimm dragon off Beacon Tower and away from the evacuees.

It was in that state of shock that Qrow found Team RWBY, minus Ruby, and he immediately rushed towards them, doubling his speed when he saw Yang laying on the ground bleeding and _missing an arm_. He would have stopped to check on her, but if what he saw was correct and what the Arc kid had told him was true, then both Ruby and Amber’s successor were on that tower, so they were his priority.

Even so, he faltered when passing his blonde niece, slowing down enough to capture a frantic mumble from her.

“B-Blake, I can’t feel my a-arm. Why can’t I f-feel my arm?”

Qrow kept moving, eventually passing the Schnee heiress, who was rooted to the spot, staring helplessly at the tower. Then, noting him, she jerked in his direction. “You- you’re Ruby’s uncle, right?”

The huntsman nodded. “Where is she?”

“She- she went up the tower to help Pyrrha, but there was a flash of… of gold and silver, then that _thing_ appeared--” The two were interrupted by a monstrous screech bellowed by the massive Grimm as it hit the ground below the academy with a thunderous crash. The school grounds fell near silent as the ensuing dust plume screened the Grimm and it’s assaulter from view.

Then it rose, like a phoenix from its ashes, only it was not held aloft by its own wings, despite it’s struggling.

The literal phoenix, it’s talons wrapped around it’s wings, screeched again, and began to flap its wings harder, dragging the Grimm dragon through the earth a bit before it managed to gain altitude. Unfortunately, the dragon took it’s chance and threw its head back, bashing it into the massive bird’s chest, allowing it to escape the talons that held it prey. It began to turn back towards Beacon, only to be tackled again.

The evacuees, those who were still waiting to be airlifted, began to shout, screaming obscenities at the dragon, an Grimm in general, and cheering on their mysterious ally from the sky.

A slug in the arm forced his eyes away from the battle and back to the heiress, who appeared to be eyeing the tower with a great intensity.

“Hold on.”

Qrow blinked.”Wha-”

The ice-blue glyph that had spawned beneath him flashed white, and suddenly he found himself being propelled into the air and towards the tower. Despite his initial surprise, he quickly righted his trajectory, inclining his _Harbinger_ and swinging it into the ruined building. Satisfied that he had a good grip, he began to to swing his way up, his speed hastened by his fear for Ruby’s fate.

He lost to much family as it was.

So, it was to his extraordinary relief that when he reached the top, he found his niece in once piece, seemingly without injury, though unconscious. _The same thing happened to Summer when she first used the Silver Eyes,_ Qrow recalled sadly.

A faint rasp of a breath drew his eyes way from Ruby and towards a grouping of ruble near the edge of the ruined tower, and Qrow felt a smaller bit of relief that Amber’s successor - Pyrrha was her name, wasn’t it? - still lived. _We still have half a maiden. Ozpin’ll be overjoyed._

Shooing that thought away, Qrow moved. “What happened up here?” he muttered to himself as he quickly made to grab both his niece and her friend, and he let out a whispered curse when he saw that Pyrrha had not been as fortunate as Ruby; there was an arrow in her in her heel, she had several bruises, and there was a dangerously large bleeding wound just below her neck.

Rolling his shoulders to make sure Pyrrha was secure, and carrying his nice in his arms, Qrow began his descent. He winced when he felt

_...I need a beer._

Or several.

* * *

Whilst the humans and Faunus alike evacuated from the Grimm infested academy and city, Ho-Oh continued its fight against the Grimm, slowly but surely forcing it to make its way across the city, dragging it back to the mountain where it erupted from. As the dragon began to pick itself up from the ground where it had been thrown, Ho-Oh closed it’s eyes, focusing for a moment.

Ignoring the screech the dragon made as it took to the air again, Ho-Oh flapped it’s wings, and a great breeze caught underneath the Grimm’s wings, forcing it in the opposite direction of Beacon. Enraged, it snarled at the Living Myth, gnashing it’s teeth.

Blinding it to the rather-large pieces of ruble rocketing towards it from the surface.

**\Ancient _Power/_**

The rubble slammed into the Grimm’s side, and it roared in pain as dust obscured its eyes. It flapped its wings quickly, clearing its view of sight, only to find Ho-Oh gone-

Wait.

There was a light above it.

Fire seemed to rain down on the Grimm dragon as Ho-Oh’s maw spewed flames hot enough to begin melting the Grimm’s bone-like armor. Unprepared for the sudden onslaught, it did not counter Ho-Oh as it once again slammed into it, knocking it into the the crater left in the mountain it had just escaped from. It had no chance to even roar before Ho-Oh picked up several nearby boulders, rocks, and several tons of dirt with **\ _Ancient Power/_** before it was buried again. Not that it would keep it there for long, as it demonstrated by immediately beginning to thrash about, causing the attack to lose it’s cohesion.

Ho-Oh knew this.

So it did something else.

**\Sacred _Fire/_**

The Legendary let the flame build in its throat for a moment before expelling it, the blue flames near-instantly fusing the mountain rock and dirt together, sealing the Grimm inside and cooking it alive.

For extra measure, Ho-Oh used **\ _Ancient Power/_** to break the now-volcanic rock apart, and gave a satisfied nod when the red ashes of a defeated Grimm were all that remained.

Landing on the peak of the mountain, Ho-Oh spread its wings and screeched victoriously.

Then it lay down to rest.

**_“...What comes next… is up to them.”_ **


	3. Of the Seiju

"Your grace?"

Salem looked up unsurprised; she had heard Tyrian's (as usual) near-silent entry although the scorpion Faunus never actually attempted to hide his presence from her. He was too loyal for that.

"Tyrian," she greeted as the man knelt before her. "What news do you bring? Good, I hope," for Cinder's sake was left unsaid. Waving her hand, she beckoned him to stand, and he did as she bid him. "Your ally within the White Fang, Adam Taurus, has reported that Beacon was a resounding success!" He looked at his queen with giddy, demented eyes, and Salem smiled.

"The Grimm were successfully released into the school grounds, taking the faculty and students by surprise. Thanks to the hijacking of the Atlesian Knights, there was virtually no opposition save a few students and teachers."

Salem grinned at that. How it must have hurt for Ozpin, knowing the events transpiring at his school with no way to help. He was, after all, but a babe now. She had felt his death, as she had so many times before, and she knew that recruiting Cinder had been the right thing to do.

Tyrian's tail twitched nervously, however, something Salem did not miss, and her amused grin faded. " _What_." She growled, sadistic pleasure gone. Tyrian sensed this as well, but spoke nonetheless.

"The Dragon broke free during the mission," came his reply, and Salem blinked, somewhat shocked. The Dragon had been one of her greatest creations she had birthed whilst she was still new to her powers, but it had been felled by one of the Kings of Vale centuries ago, sealed with magic that could only have belonged to either her or Ozm- Ozpin. To have been awakened by the chaos in Vale meant that she could possibly begin to awaken some of her older Grimm from their slumber.

But Tyrian wouldn't be so apprehensive if it had simply awakened and ravaged Beacon… so it had to be something else. " _What. Happened?_ "

Tyrian's mouth opened to answer when the room's doors flew open, and in entered Cinder and her lackeys. Her eyes narrowed slightly when she took in her apprentice's form, injuries marring her one flawless skin, slung over the shoulders of the green-haired girl, head down. In shame or pain, she did not know.

She was not concerned about such a trivial thing, however. Injuries would heal.

It was the Fall Maiden's presence that garnered her attention- or lack thereof.

" _Cinder_." Salem spoke calmly, rising from her throne. "Since Beacon was a success, I assume, despite your injuries, you retrieved the Fall Maiden?"

Only then did Cinder raise her head, the woman's only eye staring at the Queen of Grimm. Her voice rasped out, and it was only thanks to the silence of the room that she heard it, and she raged.

" _Gone_."

The floor cracked.

* * *

_A sigh. "Nothing."_

_Someone grunted. Uncle Qrow? "Just turn it off. Without the CCT, there's no point."_

_"Communication down across the entire Kingdom, no way to contact the outside world, and Ozpin's still missing…"_

_Another sigh. "Yeah."_

_A pause, from her dad this time. "This is bad, Qrow."_

_"...Yeah, this is bad."_

* * *

She wasn't sure as to how long she slept, only that the sun was shining when she woke up, and she was…

In her room? Was this Patch?

Her question was answered when her dad woke from his comfortable sleeping position, and he quickly left his chair to check on his daughter. "Ruby! You're awake!"

The girl in question blinked the rest of her sleep away, or at least attempted to. " _Ugh_ … what happened?"

Taiyang's happy expression faded, and he looked troubled. "Your uncle Qrow found you, unconscious. He got you out of there, though, and brought you home safe." Ruby nodded, that information helping to fill in the blanks of the last few recent events-

Then she recalled her sister lost her arm in the last one. "Wait! Yang, is she alright?" Taiyang winced at her choice of words, muttering something about 'dad puns' underneath his breathe, before turning his eyes away. "Uh… She's, uh…" He sighed. "She's gonna be alright. I think she just… I think it's just gonna take some time for her to get used to things. She's too strong to let this stop her-" His voice broke for a moment, and he quickly wiped a hand over his eyes. Then he gave a wistful smile. "I'm just glad to have my girls back at home."

Ruby lost herself in thought again, before more memories of Beacon resurfaced, and they frightened her. "What happened to the school?! And Vale?! Were they able to clear out the Grimm?"

Taiyang winced. "Things at Vale are under control, but the school… It's… it's not that simple. Don't get me wrong, you and that giant bird-thing did a number on the Grimm, but more keep pouring in from the borders. It's as if something's drawing them there."

Ruby blinked. "I did... what?"

He dad mumbled something, apparently lost in thought before Ruby took his attention again. "You said I 'did a number on it.' What do you mean? And what 'bird-thing' are you talking about?"

Taiyang stared at her for a moment, before attempting to redirect the conversation. "I… Look, that's not important right now. We can talk about it later. Things are just…" He made a helpless gesture with his hands. "...kind of a mess right now,"

"It's always a mess." Came the snarky reply from the doorway, and Ruby's heart eased a little bit more when she saw her uncle. He nodded to her, finishing his flask before turning to Taiyang. "Mind if we have a minute?"

He frowned. "What, I can't stay here?"

"Tai, please."

Her dad sighed, and stood, but not before leaning to kiss Ruby on the forehead and ruffle her hair. "I'm glad you're alright. I'll go make us some tea." He didn't forget to glare at his former teammate on his way out, but Qrow didn't appear to care. After Taiyang left, Qrow mad his way to Ruby's bed, grabbing the recently-vacated seat along the way and plopping it down beside her.

There was silence for a moment, then Qrow tentatively broke it. "So, uh, how're you feeling?"

Ruby thought on it for a moment. "Um… I kind of hurt… all over." Qrow chuckled a bit at her tone. "That makes sense, after what you did." He crossed his arms nonchalantly while Ruby's exasperation mounted. "You guys keep saying that! That I did something! What are you talking about?"

Her uncle was silent for a moment, studying her, never breaking contact from her eyes. "What's the last thing you remember?"

She frowned, sifting through her mind to recall what happened on the tower, making her way up, reaching the top, then-

 _Pyrrha_.

"I- I ran up the side of the tower, but when I got to the top, I…" She let out a chocked gasp. "Pyrrha! Is she-"

Qrow smiled. "That's just about the only bit of good news, niece. She's alive. Took one hell of an injury, but she pulled through. Hasn't spoken to anyone but that Arc kid, but she'll live."

She couldn't stop the tears flowing from her eyes. _Pyrrha was alive!_ her heart screamed, whilst her mind tried to rationalize because _how, she had died, bunt to ashes, she saw it_ , but she ignored it.

Qrow gave her a bit to compose herself before pressing on. "Anything else, Ruby?"

She nodded. "I remember… my head hurting."

"...The night you met Ozpin. What was the first thing he said to you."

Ruby's eyes narrowed in thought. "I… I think he said… something about... silver eyes?

"Silver Eyes, yeah. An _extremely_ rare trait." Ruby's questioning look prompted him to explain.

"You're special, Ruby. And not in the " _Daddy loves his special angel_ " kind of way. Your special, the same way your mom was. Remnant's full of legends and stories, some of them true, others not. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago, back before Huntsman, before Kingdoms.

It was said that those born with Silver Eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered, were afraid of those silver-eyed warriors. They were the best of the best. It was said that even a single look from one of those fighters could strike a Grimm down." He chuckled again. "Heh. It's a ridiculous story."

Ruby stared at her uncle. "But… you that I might be… one of them?"

Qrow shrugged, getting to his feet. "Well, I, and a couple hundred other witnesses come to think it, saw that silver light from the tower, and no Maiden can do that. And now you're here, safe in bed." He walked over to the window at leaned against the sill, gazing outside.

They stayed in silent contemplation before Ruby caught on to something. "Wait, wait, how did you know what Ozpin said to me? The night we met?"

"All those missions I go on, all the times I'm away in some far-off place… it's been for Ozpin." He shifted on his feet. "But he's missing now. Something's been set in motion, and with Oz gone, I'll have to pick up where he left off."

"And what could I do?" Ruby dove for the opening. "If I'm so special, then I can help too, right?"

The Huntsman pulled away from the window, turning back to his niece. "You really wanna help? Get some rest. You're in no condition to go anywhere right now. Besides, our enemy's trail leads all the way to Haven. That'd be quite a trip for a pipsqueak like you." Ruffling his niece's hair, he made for the door, winking just as he left her sight. "Catch ya later, kiddo."

She was left alone again, and there she stayed for an hour, before the headache that plagued her disappeared, then she went to check on Yang.

* * *

It was not long after Ho-Oh had defeated the Dragon that the other Grimm began to make their way up the mountain in greater number. Under normal circumstances, they would be no threat to the Living Myth, but these were no ordinary circumstances.

Ho-Oh new little of this new world, or his purpose here, and whatever had brought him here had depleted his powers to the point of exhaustion, and the immediate battle after he had arrived did not make things better. Even now, Ho-Oh could feel every bruise and gash parting gifts from the late Grimm. It had taken much willpower not to sleep on the spot, instead propelling its wings to carry him away from his temporary roost.

Unlike his others flights, which Ho-Oh enjoyed, this one had no joy to partake in. Ho-Oh flew away, leaving the dying city behind. It flew for some time, it's rainbow wings carrying it fast and far, before it came to fly over a mountain range seemingly devoid of Grimm. Circling for a bit, the Legendary saw a cavern in a mountain large enough to have plenty of wing space, so it was there he landed.

As soon as his talons touched the ground, Ho-Oh wanted to fall into a healing slumber. In situations like there, where he was severely depowered (such a thing hasn't happened in centuries) **\ _Roost/_** worked best while he slept. But the world would continue to spin, and Ho-Oh new he could not do nothing during his slumber.

It was not often that he called upon the _Seiju_ to aid him, but since their resurrection, they always held a connection akin to that of his own counterpart and his _Mirajuu_ , and Ho-Oh knew that they too had been dragged to this new world, most likely due to their connection with him. Still, he called, and it was not a day later when the winds began to shift, from warm to frigid, both burning with the smell of ozone.

The _Seiju_ entered reverently, a habit Ho-Oh had no idea where they picked up; he had told them multiple times that they were not bound to him.

The Legendary was snapped out of its thoughts when the _Seiju_ rushed forward, concern showing on their normally stoic snouts. They immediately began doing their best to soothe Ho-Oh's pain, something he appreciated.

The one who the humans called Suicune applied its paws to some of the gashes, a fresh cold relieving them of some pain. The one the humans called Entei began lighting fires around the cavern, warming Ho-Oh. The one the humans called Raikou began to apply mild sparks of electricity to his bruises, massaging them.

Once they had helped all they could, they turned to stand in front of him. _**"Master**_ ** _,"_** Entei growled in greeting. Suicune and Raikou bowed their heads with difference, and Ho-Oh let out a weak squawk of acknowledgment. **_"Seiju. Thank you for answering my call."_**

 _ **"It was out duty, our honor, and our pleasure,"**_ Suicune bowed again, and Ho-Oh pecked him lightly in the head indignantly. **_"Must I repeat myself? You need not serve me, nor show me reverence."_**

Raikou shrugged, or at least as well as a quadruped could. _ **"We have not forgotten the debt we owe. You have given us our lives, so we merely give them back to you."**_

Ho-Oh sighed, but it's heart warmed. The Living Myth was proud to have had a hand in the creation of the three, and had looked on in pride as they aided the earth they walked from above. **_"I am proud to have you amongst my friends."_** Raikou pawed the ground embarrassed. Suicune looked away as to not give away the light in his eyes, and Entei increased his body heat slightly to discourage any salt water from leaking.

The Legendary sighed again. **_"However, I have not called you here to tend to me. There are things in motion that I know little, or nothing of. What I_ do _know is that there are two individuals who must be guarded and guided."_**

The _Seiju_ adopted a wary look. **_"So, it is true, what we sense? A Maiden? Here?"_** Entei exclaimed, and Ho-Oh nodded. ** _"I know not whether they are the Maidens you once knew, but She Who Brings the Fall must be guided the proper way."_** An autumn light appeared in Ho-Oh's eyes for a moment. **_"I have stripped her of her powers, to be returned when the time is right. However, the power I took was only half. The other lies with a False Maiden."_**

The _Seiju_ growled at this, pacing angrily around the den. **_"What do you ask of us, Embodiment of Purity? Ask, and we shall serve."_**

**_"You must guide them while I sleep. Follow them, make not a sound. Defend them from those who would harm them, and help others you find along your way. Bring hope to this dark world."_ **

Raikou stopped pacing for a moment. ** _"Who is the other?"_** he asked, and Ho-Oh ruffled its feathers as it got into a more comfortable position. **_"I know not her duty or fate, but She Who Shines like Silver must be protected as well."_** Ho-Oh let out a sigh of relief when the his Seiju nodded. **_"Thank you, my friends. Now go, do not let me keep you."_**

Before leaving, the Sacred Beasts each nudged Ho-Oh gently with their snouts, then they were off, three streaks on red, blue and yellow in the night sky.

And Ho-Oh slept, knowing he had done all he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact; this is the longest chapter I've ever written. 2, 681 words, almost double the usual. Now, if I can keep it up, that's the question.


	4. D'Arc Times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll get to Blake in one more chapter, I think.

To her infinite surprise, Pyrrha woke up in an bed that was not hers.

It wasn't the fact that the bed wasn't hers that shocked her, but that she was aware enough to feel it. _Am I dead? This bed isn't mine, but..._

In fact, she couldn't recognize the room she slept in, noticing it lacked another two beds on the far end. No beds for Nora and Ren. _This isn't_ -

Beacon.

Her eyes shot open as she recalled the fate of her school, the White Fang, the Grimm, the fight with Cinder… her confession to Jaune.

It was only when she turned to sit up did she realize that said teen was sleeping in a chair next to her, and Pyrrha silently thanked the Brothers and all the deities above for letting him be the one she woke up too.

She didn't move for a while, content to simply bask in the peace that had descended on her. No plots, no fighting, no pressure. Just her and Jaune. A part of her wanted to pull him into bed and snuggle him, but her rational thinking got the better of her, and she decided to wait for her partner to wake. In the meantime, she did her best to recall the events of the Vale Festival.

She had ki-

 _No. Don't go there._ There were questions she didn't have the answers too, and that was one of them. She still remembered, very vividly, the hundreds of swords arrayed against her, and she had panicked. She hadn't meant to-

_Do. Not. Go. There._

She had enough guilt to deal with her situation with Jaune.

Then the Grimm had attacked, and she had been forced to make a choice. They had gone down to the secret vault underneath Beacon, and there she took the last vestiges of Amber Autumn's power.

And _gods_ , it had hurt.

Then Cinder had arrived, and Professor Ozpin told them to flee, to find help, and they did, leaving the headmaster to stall against the flame-wielding woman. They had made it to the courtyard when Cinder had erupted from the vault, leaving Ozpin to rot, and Pyrrha realized that she would be hunted until she relinquished the power now within her.

She had the feeling that Cinder would stop for no one to get to her. And Pyrrha knew she would die a thousand deaths before letting someone else die because of her.

So she kissed Jaune goodbye and sent him away.

Then she died. Yet she lived.

And, curiously, the ember of power that belonged to Autumn no longer flared within her. It was gone, and at that, Pyrrha felt both relieved and worried. _Did Cinder gain the full powers of the Maiden? If not, what happened?_

_Or who?_

Subconsciously massaging the scar on her chest, she faintly recalled the splendor of a white void, and the majesty of a godly voice.

Beyond that, she remembered nothing.

Shaking her head, content yet frustrated oat her memories (or lack of them) she shifted in bed again, turning around.

Jaune was staring at her, smiling uncertainty.

"Hey. Your finally awake."

Sitting up, Pyrrha was suddenly aware that her hair was a mess, and her hands immediately moved to make it seem more presentable.

They changed their destination halfway and surged towards Jaune, who had swiftly abandoned his seat to embrace her, and they met in the middle.

Even as the two clung onto each other crying, they'd never been happier.

They stayed like that for an indefinite amount of time, and Pyrrha noted that Jaune was leaning into her, his eyes shuttering. She saw the bags under his eyes, and she looked at him concerned. "Jaune, when was the last time you slept?

"...Beacon, I think. 'Bout a week ago," Jaune mumbled tiredly. "Wanted to… wait for you. Make sure you woke up." He stared at her, blue eyes meeting green, and he all but collapsed into bed with her. Pyrrha let out a surprised yelp and instinctively made room for him. Even in his tired state, they were filled with concern for her.

She didn't deserve him.

"Jaune, I-"

He silenced her with a sleepy kiss. "Next time you go fighting, take me with you. We're partners, aren't we?

Pyrrha stayed frozen for a moment, before melting into him. "Alright. But-"

Jaune wrapped an arm around her. "No. Don't apologize."

"But-"

" _Pyrrha_." She fell silent, and found herself lost in his eyes again. "It's alright. Just… don't do it again, please."

Gods be good, she may not deserve him, but she wanted him.

And, as it would seem, Jaune wanted her back. Pyrrha could live with that. She let her head fall back onto the pillow, resting by her partner, and together, they fell asleep.

There would be much talking to do tomorrow, explanations to be made, apologies to be given, and plans to draft, but for now, there was peace.

And in that room,they dreamt of nothing but each other.

* * *

Nora wandered around the house aimlessly. It wasn't _boring_ here, per-say, it was just that there was little to do. Ren was off sleeping, the results of an all-nighter training session, so she was deprived of his company, to her disappointment. The younger Arc siblings (Jaune wasn't kidding, he had a lot of sisters) had school, and the elder siblings, along with their parents, had work, so no 'girl time.' Gris Arc, Jaune's father, was actually part of the Vale military, so he had been called to Beacon soon after they arrived.

Jaune had been kind enough to offer them room and board at his parent's place when they had been evacuated from the city, seeing as both she and Ren had nowhere to go, and Pyrrha was in no condition to be moved oversees to Mistral. They had been happy to accept, and it would've been a lie to say they weren't interested in the Arc family.

Jaune's reunion with his parents was a little tense at first, for reasons Nora didn't really care to think about (so _what_ if Jaune faked his transcripts in? He worked harder than anyone to be among them, so who was she to call him out?) but after a few moments the Arc family embraced each other, and all was well. For the most part, at least.

It had been a week since then, and Jaune rarely left Pyrrha's side, only leaving to shower occasionally and when someone forced him to eat something. From what she could tell, he hadn't slept since the flight from Beacon. Which was probably why she had changed direction and headed to his room. _Might as well do something useful._

She opened the door to his room, only to be greeted by a mop of blonde hair tangled with a sea of red, and it took all of her to not squeal in excitement.

_FINALLY_

She took a picture of them with her scroll, then left.

She would blackmail them tomorrow for Jaune to make pancakes, but for now, she supposed, they need all the rest they could get.

Nora kind of wanted to do the same thing with Ren.

_Actually… why not?_

So she went and joined her partner underneath their blankets, and slept.

She didn't dream of Beacon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang mopes. Jaune get's caught with Pyrrha in his bed.

Her sister was staring out the window of the spare bedroom when Ruby finally summoned the courage to visit her, although her courage was limited to her standing in the doorway. She had somewhat been dreading this meeting since she woke up, but she couldn't just leave her sister alone, could she? So, tentatively, she spoke up. "Yang?"

No response. Obviously, her sister wanted to be left alon-

"Ruby."

She turned back.

Her sister was crying.

She wasted no time in running to her sister and hugging her. "Im so glad you're okay!" she whispered, but Yang shook her head. "But I'm _not_ , Ruby." Shrugging her sister off, she continued. "It's all gone. The school, Penny, and…"

Ruby frowned as she realized something. "Yang, what happened to Weiss and Blake?"

Yang was quiet for a moment. "Wess' father came for her," and Ruby was filled with apprehension. "W-what? What do you mean?"

"No one outside of Vale knows what happened here. Before the tower fell, the last thing people saw was Atlas attacking innocent people and Grimm destroying the city." She shuddered. "Everyone's scared. No one knows who to trust. So, Weiss' father came to take her back to Atlas, where he thinks it's safe. She's gone."

She didn't like that. Ruby understood that it probably _was_ safer in Atlas, but the idea of her partner being so far away rankled her to no end. But, that was only one partner. "What about-"

"And Blake _ran_. Sun saw her go. After we got to the city, she just… left!"

"But… why?!" _Why would she leave her team alone?_

"I don't know," Yang growled out, "and I don't care."

Ruby blinked. That… didn't sound like the Yang she knew. "There… there has to be a reason she-"

"No, there _doesn't_! _Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby_!" With that outburst, the two fell into silence, and Ruby reluctantly picked up the dying conversation. "So, what do we do now?"

Her sister turned away from her and gazed out the window again. " _You_ can do whatever do want. I'm gonna lie here."

Ruby wanted to cry. "Yang…"

"Just leave me alone."

So Ruby did. Pausing in the doorway, she turned to look at her sister for a moment.

"I love you."

Then she left her sister to her own devices. If Yang wanted to stay here, fine, she could do so. But she would not sit by idly and do nothing, not when there were still questions to be answered and people to save.

_Uncle Qrow said the trail to CInder led to Haven, didn't he?_

She had a call to make.

* * *

_This is nice._

It was. It was the most rested he had been in a while. Although, finally, it seemed as if his body wanted him to wake up, despite his mind telling him no ( _but his body~ his body~ is tellin' him ye-es~)_ so, reluctantly, he opened his bleary eyes.

Blue, innocent eyes stared back, and suddenly he was aware that he wasn't the only one in his bed as Pyrrha shifted in her sleep.

He turned back to his wide-eyed sister. "H-hey, Verte, I can explain-"

She inhaled.

"No no no _wait_ -"

"MA! BIG BRO HAS A PRETTY GIRL IN HIS BED!"

Immediately after this declaration Pyrrha shot awake, disorientated, and from an adjacent room he heard a squeal from Nora. Elsewhere in the house, he heard a noise that terrified him more than any other.

" _JAUNE D'OR ARC, DID I HEAR YOU HAVE A_ _ **GIRL**_ _IN YOUR BED?!"_

_Brothers above please help me._

Beside him, Pyrrha squeaked and shimmied further into the blankets, and Jaune was tempted to join him.

…

…

…

After that _lovely_ morning debacle, Team JNPR headed down for breakfast, and had a relatively good day, and both Ren and Nora were elated to see their teammate up and raring to go, Nora even more so with the confirmation that Jaune and Pyrrha were now 'a thing.'

Soon after, Pyrrha sat them all down and began to explain what she knew, and she was greeted with patience and understanding, to her relief. With that out of the way, the students decided to head out for the day to celebrate Pyrrha's successful recovery.

They were eating lunch when the Ruby called them on Jaune's scroll, and explained what she knew and her intentions to Team JNPR. It didn't take long for them to decide what to do, and by the end of the day they set off for Patch.

* * *

The first thing she did upon reuniting with Team JNPR was tackling Pyrrha in a hug and crying out her apologies, which took a moment. After she had calmed enough for coherent speech, she turned to the rest of them. Jaune was the first to properly greet her. "Hey."

Ruby smiled. "Hey, Jaune. Hey, guys. Haven's a long way to go."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement. "We know. It's the only way we have now." There was silence for a moment. "Are you guys sure you want to come along?" Ruby asked, and they nodded. "The journey will be perilous, and whether we'll find answers at the end is entirely uncertain…" Ren began.

"But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it," Nora finished.

Ruby nodded, facing her house one last time before turning to her friends. "Then, let's get started."

And Team JNPRR set out for Haven, conversing merrily with each other, almost as if ready to take on the entire world, and the Grimm that filled it.

On a nearby cliff, Qrow watched his niece go, staring at the staff in his hand for a moment, before jumping of said cliff. A crow quickly took his place and soared after the huntsmen-and-woman-in-training, keeping his ever watchful red eyes on them.

* * *

Zwei wandered around the Xiao Long aimlessly, content in chasing squirrels and rolling around in water, and it was doing so when it felt three others grace him with their presence. The corgi barked a greeting, and the three beasts gave one back. " _ **Greetings, small one. Have you seen She Who Shines like Silver? Or She Who Brings the Fall?"**_

Zwei barked again, and the icy one nodded, placing a thankful paw on his head. " _ **Thank you, small one."**_ Then they were gone, as swiftly as the wind, and the corgi went about his day.

…

…

…

" _ **They seek the other Maidens,"**_ Raikou guessed, but Entei shook his head. " _ **Perhaps not. I do not believe She Who Brings the Fall has the power to seek out her fellow Maidens. Nor does She Who Shines like Silver, although I know not her abilities."**_

" _ **Maybe,"**_ Suicune wondered, " _ **they look for answers, just as we do. And they seem to have a protector as well."**_ All three of the _Seiju_ had seen the red-eyed crow flitting between trees, though they had made sure to keep the crow from seeing them. " _ **And from what we know, they seem to be accomplished fighters."**_

Entei pondered for a moment. With the crow watching them, he felt as if the children would be safe for the time being, which meant they had time to fulfill their other charge.

" _ **Then, we will not be needed all the time. For now, we shall leave them be, and scout ahead. Go with the winds, brothers."**_ The _Seiju_ nodded in agreement.

And so they went.


	6. A Cat, a Monkey, and a Sea Dragon (or two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4k words. Huh.

Despite the many times they had born witness to it, the affront to the Brother gods emerging from the pitch-black pools below the castle disgusted her to no end. Here she was, on the edge of the world, watching the enemies of Humanity being birthed from below the window.

Emerald was, to put it mildly, _very_ disturbed.

Had she voiced those thoughts, her partner, Mercury, would have agreed. Had she been a better person, she might have tried to destroy the Grimm pools, but she wasn't stupid. One hostile move from her and her head would be presented to Salem on a silver platter, with Cinder as the server.

_Snap_.

Emerald quickly heeded Cinder's request as she moved towards the crippled Maiden, Mercury following, as always. A small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless, that he was there with her.

The two partners-in-crime paid no attention to the others seated at the table besides their… master? Employer? Honestly, Emerald had never been truly sure what the relationship she and Mercury shared with the Maiden, only that there was a hierarchy and she was on top.

Taking their place at Cinder's side, Emerald eyed the others of Salem's inner circle. There was Tyrian, the deranged, fanatical Faunus that Emerald had made sure to never be with alone, something that Mercury had agreed with when they spoke in private. There was Arthur Watts, a former Atlesian scientists, mildly enraptured by whatever was playing on his Scroll. The Atlesian was far better than Tyrian, in her eyes, but, then again, that wasn't a hard bar to top.

Then there was Hazel Rainhart.

Mercury had been the first to tell her how he thought of the older man as something as an older brother, something which Emerald concurred with, seeing as he was the only one who didn't seem overly malicious, and was the only one that she actually felt safe conversing with. She had found, to her surprise, that Hazel did enjoy the conversations the three of them had, the only real respite from the gloom of the castle.

But enough of that, Cinder had need of her.

Subtly nudging Mercury out of the way to stand right next to her, Emerald stood at the ready to wait on any of the Fall Maiden's commands.

Unfortunately, their movement had caught the attention of Watts, who looked up from his Scroll momentarily, sneering at Cinder. "Yes, yes, keep your posse in check."

Mercury made to move forward, only being held back by Emerald, and he reluctantly backed down.

Watts nodded condescendingly at that, then returned his gaze to Cinder. "Do you hear that? Silence."

Besides him, Hazel rolled his eyes. Undeterred, Watts continued. "I've half a mind to _thank_ the little girl that bested you." This time it was Mercury subtly holding Emerald back from thrashing the scientist, and she was thankful for it half a second later when Tyrian roused himself from wherever his sick mind went. "If _I_ were you, I'd hunt her down." He let out a deranged giggle. "Find her, and, well… she took _your_ eye, didn't she?"

Emerald had to admire her master's utter lack of response while knowing she was seething on the inside. Despite this, she would not let such an insult go unpunished, and parted her lips to speak.

Only a quiet rasp emerged.

Watts shook his head. "Pathetic. Why do you even-"

The sound of a lock unlatching rang throughout the room, signaling the arrival of the last of Salem's inner circle.

Salem herself.

The rest of them stand as she enters, seemingly gliding across the smooth, obsidian floor despite the soft footsteps that could be heard. She makes her way to her throne-seat, remaining silent all the while, seemingly gazing at the broken moon in the window. Then she turned to them, and Emerald couldn't help but repress a shudder when blood-red eyes passed over her.

"Watts," Salem's voice rang out, and the aforementioned scientists straightened. Salem took this as his show of him paying rapt attention, which he was, to his credit. "Do you find such malignance necessary?" With that scathing remark, she finally gestures for them to sit, and they did so.

Watts frowned slightly at the jab. "I apologize, ma'am. I'm not particularly fond of failure.

Salem appeared to consider his words, and nodded slightly, seemingly not noticing the slight relief on Watts face and the anger on Cinder's. "And that is in your right. But, however much Cinder failed at retrieving the full powers of the Fall Maiden, she _did_ destroy Beacon Tower, and, most importantly, killed dear Ozpin. So, I'm curious, to what other failures do you refer to?"

The brief silence was almost deafening before the scientist responded. "Well… the girl with the SIlver Eyes."

Hazel grunted, the first vocalization he had made since entering the room. "Arthur makes a good point. We've dealt with their kind before. How is it a novice was able to est one of us?"

Watts threw a grateful glance at the taller man. "My thoughts exactly. Even without her new power, it should have been effortless."

"It is _because_ of the Maiden's power that she was defeated," Salem cut in. "Were it not for the fact that Cinder had failed to gain the rest of the Maiden's power I doubt she would be here amongst us." She turned towards Cinder, who seemed intent in glaring a hole through the table. "Make no mistake Cinder. Even with half the Fall maiden, you hold the key to our victory. But… your Maiden half brings with it a crippling weakness, which is why you will remain by my side as we continue your treatment."

Cinder gritted her teeth at this, but averted her eyes.

Her reprimanding done, the Grimm Queen turned to Arthur. "Doctor Watts, you are to take Cinder's place and meet with out informant in Mistral." The scientist nodded at his orders. "Very good."

Next, Salem turned to the only Faunus in the room. "Tyrian, I want you to continue your hunt for the Spring Maiden." Said Faunus let out a crazed laugh. "Gladly!"

Lastly, Salem turned to Hazel. "I'm sending you to the Adam Taurus, our intermediary leader in the White Fang. He arranged the meeting, so take the time to thank him for saving me the time." A pause. "The boy continues to prove loyal. Ensure that Sienna Khan feels the same."

Hazel nodded. "As you wish."

Whilst Salem dished out order, Emerald was distracted by Cinder beckoning to her, and she leaned down to hear her master's query. Once she did, she turned to Salem, who nodded to her. "Speak, child."

Emerald hesitated a moment before speaking. "She wants to know… What about the girl? And the phoenix."

Watts scoffed. "What about girl? Seems to me this is Cinders problem, not ours-" Cinder's fist slamming into the table cut him off, and she only returned the glare he sent her way via grin.

"That's enough." Salem quite obviously didn't want to deal with them bickering like children. "Tyrian?"

"Yes, my lady?"

"Spring... can wait. Find the girl that did this to Cinder…" Tyrian let out an elated cackle and clapped his hands in excitement.

"...and bring her to me."

Freezing, the Faunus groaned in disappointment, pouting for a moment before turning back to Salem with a conceding shrug and a small, manic grin.

With their new assignments handed out, Salem stood to address all of them. "As for the phoenix, my Grimm have not seen it since that day, an the last they saw of it was it fleeing, possibly to heal its wounds. It will be dealt with if it emerges again, I assure you. Because of your efforts, Beacon has fallen, and Haven will be next."

With that, the meeting adjourned, and everyone turned to leave or loiter around. Next to her, Tyrian snickered at Cinder before pointing to his pupil. " _An eye for an eye!_ "

The room was filled with deranged laughter.

* * *

Blatantly ignoring the the sound of gunshots growing closer, Nora continued her mock-argument with Ren. "I'm just sayin', there's more members of JNPR in this team than RWBY. It just makes sense to go switch to that one."

Ren blinked. "But 'junior' isn't a color," he noted in confusion, and Nora groaned. "How can I be more clear? One two, three, four- Oh, yeah. Forgot about Pyrrha for a moment."

"So, what, do we stick with JNPR? Or is it JNPR + R? Or is it JNPRR? Or maybe-"

Behind them, both Jaune and Pyrrha were crouching and watching something. When their arguing got a little louder, Pyrrha turned to them. "We need to focus, you two."

"Also, RJNPR looks so much better," Jaune added without looking up, and Nora shot him a pout. That quickly turned to battle-ready determination as the rumbles they had been hearing for a while got louder.

"It's here."

There was a calm for a moment before they sighted Ruby flying backwards from the tress above them, firing with _Crescent Rose_ at the massive Grimm (golem? giant?) that was chasing.

Which promptly ran itself of the cliff.

Ruby let out a scream as she fell, smashing into several trees on her way down.

"BAD… LANDING… STRATEGY!" She recovered quickly enough to avoid the blow from the Grimm, now recovered from the fall, breezing past it with her Semblance and resuming her barrage. Jaune motioned towards his team and the rushed forward. "Lets get that thing off her!"

Ren made for the trees, like the shinobi he was, while Nora simply shot herself into the air with a concussive blast from _Magnhild._ Jaune made to move forward, but Pyrrha placed an arm on his shoulder pad. He looked at there, then grinned. "You think you can do it?" he asked his partner, and she nodded. "Let's go!"

Using her semblance, she 'grabbed' Jaune's breastplate and the metal strips of her outfit, and suddenly they were flying, albeit more slowly than Ruby.

Swinging after the Grimm, Ren unsheathed his _StormFlower._ "We need to draw it away from Ruby!" Said huntress student was frantically dodging the arms(?) of the Grimm. "Yeah, come help would be nice!"

Perched neatly on a tree, Nora let loose a barrage of explosive grenades in the back of the Grimm, while Ren hopped from one tree to another, peppering it with Dust pellet. Annoyed by the pestering peashooter, the Grimm swung it's rocky arm at the JNPR shinobi, Ren dodging it by running up it's length, striking with _StormFlower_ , to little effect.

"Darn it!" Jaune swore as he and Pyrrha raced to close the gap. Pyrrha concurred with a quick nod. "We have to get in closer!" They narrowly avoided a swing from the Grimm before pulling back, landing next to Ren, who looked agitated. "My blades don't hurt it!"

Seemingly growing tired of the elusive red blur, the Grimm turned back towards them and began to stomp it's way over.

Nora summed up the group's feelings with an aptly placed "Crap!"

Ruby, never being one to be intimidated, simply pulled out a custom Dust cartridge. "How about _this!"_ She then proceeded to unload a blast of lightning that struck one of the Grimm's arms, the one that was a tree. However, instead of harming it, it simply makes the Grimm's arm a much more lethal weapon.

Because the lightning set it on fire.

Bringing it's newly fired-up (yes, pun intended) arm, the Grimm slammed it into the ground, the shockwaves causing them to stumble. By them, of course, that meant Jaune, for the others had lept to the relative safety of the trees. He was tossed across the battlefield until his flight was stopped by Pyrrha's Semblance, thankfully, and he craned his neck back to see what had early befallen his _hem_ manly parts _hem_. " _You'll be fine without a weapon_ , they said. _You're the strategist_ , they said!"

His grumbling was cut off by the monster singling him out, and once again he fervently wished he still had _Crocea Mars_ as he dodged a flailing arm, picking up and slugging a stone at the Grimm out of frustration. It just so happened that it flew near the Grimm's mash-head, and instantly it reared it's body back from the potential attack.

And in that instant Jaune knew.

"The mask! The mask is the weak point!"

Pyrrha at once understood what Jaune meant to do. "Go for the limbs! If we take them out, we can strike at it unimpeded!"

With that, Team RJNPR lunged forward in unison, Jaune grabbing the Grimm's attention again, Ren firing bullet after bullet into it, Pyrrha soaring in circles around it in an aggravating manner, and Nora blasting away at it's legs. With the renewed assault focused solely on the pillars of the monster, it soon collapsed under its own weight. As soon as it did, the Geist left it's battered body and fled for the cover of the trees.

It never made it.

Ruby, who had been lying in wait, swooped down from the tree adjacent to the Geist, and with a single slash of _Crescent Rose_ , the fight was ended.

With that, the Beacon students each let out a collective sigh, tension fading with the Grimm's dust. They all regrouped near the edge of the path leading back towards the village they had taken the mission from, and they laughed and grinned, congratulating one another on a battle well fought.

" _Heh heh_ , another victory for Team R- You know what? I can't even pronounce that," Jaune sighed, and they laughed.

Stamping out the fire to prevent it from spreading, they began to head back in light spirits. Both Pyrrha and Jaune more so, seeing as the reward for their work would be-

…

…

...

" _Whoooah_ ," Ruby gushed as the two partners tried on their new outfits. Jaune had swapped his breastplate for a more fitting cuirass, it's gleaming white body accented by a healthy does of bronze. In his hands he held the modified Crocea Mars. The sword blade was a bit longer, and there was a Dust cartridge holder in it's pommel. Jaune swung it around experimentally before smoothly sheathing it in his shield and placing it on his side.

As for Pyrrha, her usual huntress outfit had been replaced by a linothorax fully covering her chest and torso, however it retained the gold and bronze colour scheme that Pyrrha seemed to favor. She had also commissioned a replacement for her bronze circlet, although this iteration had two strips of bronze protecting both her cheeks for extra protection, so it took the look of a half-helm. She had also taken to wearing combat boots, making sure her heal was properly covered. Her weapon, _Miló_ , had seen its blade elongated slightly, like Jaune's, and had been infuse with ice Dust. Her shield, _Akoúo̱_ , had been rounded off, leaving the shield wholly round, and it's sides had been reinforced with some of the excess metal that Jaune had used from his breastplate.

(Pyrrha did not forget what had happened on top of that tower. She never would. The next time she faced _her,_ she would be prepared.)

"You two look _so cool!_ " Ruby all but squealed. "When did you have the time to design them?" The Blacksmith seemed to agree with the scythe-wielding huntress. "I must say, not many people come to me for armor construction, but those two are my finest pieces of work! Next time you go against a set of claws, you'll be thanking your armor is all that got torn!"

The Beacon students admired their comrades' new looks for a while before the Blacksmith spoke up again. "You sure you kids won't stick around? You've been real goo to this town." His question was met wit thankful smiles, but Ruby answered for them. "Sorry, but we've got another mission."

"Make it to Haven Academy," Nora added, "no matter what."

Ren was the next to speak. "We've heard the next village over has a working airship." The Blacksmith stroked his beard in thought for a moment. "Mmm, no way to know for sure. Scroll signals were weak enough out here back when Beacon Tower was still up. Haven't heard from Shion Village in a while."

"Well," Ruby shrugged, "there's only one way to find out.

* * *

The call of seagulls could be heard as they flew over the rippling ocean waters.

Blake ignored them, and everyone else on the boat, as the stared out into see and lamenting about the past few weeks. The other passengers, seemingly sensing her desire to be left alone, did exactly that, so she found that for the first time since Beacon fell she was able to just… think about it.

She really didn't like to. Especially not about Yang's-

"Traveling alone?"

She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't hear or notice the Captain of the vessel approach her. She tried to conceal her surprise at being caught unawares while simultaneously gripping _Gambol Shroud_ , but obviously failed when the Captain held his hands up in an appeasing manner. "Now, now, no threat here. Just here to chat."

She hesitated for a moment, eyeing the man before relaxing and releasing her weapon, all the while rolling her eyes. "And why is that?"

The Captain, lowering his arms and leaning on the railing, gazed idly into the ocean. "Well, not many people travel by boat on their own. I can be quite a lonely voyage. But… I find that those that do tend to have the more… interesting stories."

Having heard enough fro the man, Blake turned away. "Maybe its just… better for some people to be alone."

Her heat nearly caught in her chest when to kids ran past her, and the Captain laughed. "Maybe so, but with your paranoia, I think a few friendly faces wouldn't hurt."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "Who says I'm paranoid?"

The Captain laughed again. "No one, dear. No one. I'll… leave you be." He turned to go, then stopped and looked back. "But, uh, fair warning; these trips can be awfully boring."

"Mm."

After the kindly Captain left, Blake returned to watching the ocean for a bit, before undoing the ribbon around her ears. "Won't be needing this."

She let the ribbon go, and watched it sink into the sea, as if leaving some part of her behind. What part of her, now, that was the question.

But, for another time. So, she turned, and left.

She noticed neither the hooded Faunus watching her or the black scales that momentarily surfaced.

…

…

…

The sun was setting, and with it, Blake's fear that she would be ambushed by Adam the White Fang going down with it. Despite what had happened in the past few weeks, from the fall of Beacon to her flight front the school to the nearest port, she could appreciate the beauty the sun brought, allowing her to reminisce about the days they had spent out training with her team.

It was nice.

Then she turned to head in for the night, and that's when she saw the hooded figure watching her from the upper deck. Instantly, she unsheathed her weapon. " _Who's there?!_ "

The hooded figure disappears from view, seemingly running for it, and for a moment Blake thought she caught a glimpse of blonde air.

She might have gone after him had the boat not rocked, and she let out a curse as she struggled to keep her balance.

"RED ALERT! _RED ALERT_!"

The scream from one of the crew members was, unfortunately, the second thing to alert her to the Sea Feilong's presence. The first had been the shadow of the creature as it rose from the depths, and Blake, as well as all others on the ship with her, could only stare.

On the bridge of the ship, the Captain gaped. "By the gods…"

The alarms start blaring just as the Grimm roars.

"ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS!"

The crew stared at the Captain. "But, sir! We've never fought a Grimm this big!"

"We've never _seen_ something this big. But... _WE'LL GIVE 'ER A FIGHT NONETHELESS_!"

On the deck, Blake had already sprung into action, slinging herself through the air with _Gambol Shroud_ and her shadow clones, flying above the Grimm before swimming her weapon and embedding it in it's back. Immediately, she began preparing the serpent with bullets, and the Feilong let out roar of frustration, and dove towards the ship. The Captain, Brother gods bless him, managed to steer the ship out of harm's way. Unfortunately for Blake, she was dragged along in the Feilong's rage, and eventually, her weapon gave way, and she fell back onto the deck of the ship, injuring her shoulder in the fall.

The Captain, steel steering the ship desperately, yells out to his crew. "HOLD STEADY, LADS, IT'S NOT DONE WITH US YET! _GET THE HEAVY CANNON LOADED_!"

"AYE, SIR!"

The Heavy Cannon sprung up from the bowels of the deck, extending itself into attack position before aiming at the Grimm, who responds to this development by revealing it can fly.

Not at all comforting.

With a cry of rage, the Feilong beat it wings, sending a gale of wind at the ship, nearly blowing Blake into the sea. The Captain, having none of that, gave the order. "Heavy Cannon, OPEN FIRE!"

And it did just that.

And missed.

And then the Feilong turned back towards the ship once more, preparing to dive, and Blake readied herself for what might be her last act in the world of the living.

Then the hooded figure from earlier used her as a launching pad.

"HEY!"

Ignoring the indignant cat Faunus, the hooded figure let the cloak fall away, revealing to Blake, in his full glory-

" _SUN?!_ "

Shooting her a quick grin, Sun spawned his own clones, who boosted him towards the Grimm's head.

The Feilong, having absolutely none of that, headbutted the monkey Faunus back onto the deck, where he let out a pained groan. It took everything Blake had to not slap him as she ran to his side. "Sun, what are you doing here?!"

"Oh, you know…" he let out a weak chuckle, "just watching my impending doom."

A moment later, Blake understood what he said. The Feilong's shadow once again cast over the ship, the wings only adding to the doom all present felt. Despite her bad arm, Blake leveled her weapon at the enemy, and Sun stood up and unholstered his guns.

The Feilong, roared, then dove.

_Mom… Dad…_

_Yang..._

_I'm so sorry._

In spite of herself, she closed her eyes and waited for the end.

Yet, it did not come.

So she opened them, and was greeted with the sight of the Feilong streaking across the water, _away_ from them, as fast as it could go.

_What? Why would it-_

Her thoughts were cut of by something swam under the boat again.

The boat rocked again, and suddenly, Blake saw something very large and very white cut a swathe through the water, chasing, and gaining, on the fleeing Grimm, who seemed to turn back to face it. That wasn't the only change, however.

"Holy cow…" Sun whispered. "Do you... do you hear that?"

She did.

The ocean was singing.

And when the white blur emerged to combat the Grimm, she understood why. She was reminded, again, of the night Beacon fell, when a golden bird descended front the sky to aid them.

There was no golden bird this time.

* * *

With a cry to match thunder, the Beast of the Sea rose from the depths.


End file.
